Members of Congress. Who is in Congress: Sex and Race Beliefs and interests of members of Congress can affect policy Sex and Race: House has become less.

Members of Congress

Who is in Congress: Sex and Race

Beliefs and interests of members of Congress can affect policy

Sex and Race:House has become less male and less white

Senate has been slower to changeMembers of color may gain influence more quickly than women b/c they come from safe districts

Republican control has decreased influence of all minorities

Who is in Congress: Incumbency

Membership in Congress became a career – low turnover by the 1950’s

1992 and 1994 brought many new members to the House

Redistricting after 1990 census put many incumbents in districts they couldn’t win

Anti-incumbency attitude of votersRepublican victory in 1994 partially due to shift in South

Who is in Congress: Incumbency

Incumbents still have great electoral advantageMost House districts safe, not marginalSenators are less secure

Voters support incumbents for several reasonsGet more media coverageGreater name recognition (franking, visits, etc)

Secure policies and programs for voters

Who is in Congress: PartyDemocrats controlled both houses in 25 Congresses and

at least one in 29 Congresses between 1933-2004Gap between votes and seats: Republican vote is higher

than number of seats wonArgument that Dems redraw district lines in their favorRepublicans run best in high turnout districts, Dems in

lowIncumbent advantage now benefits bothGap closed in 1994- stable pattern of Republican

control in placeElectoral convulsions do periodically alter membership

(as in 1994)• Voters opposed incumbents due to budget deficits, legislative

policies, bickering, scandal• Also, 1990 redistricting and southern shift toward Republican

The 113th Congress

541 elected officials from 50 states, five territories, and Washington, D.C.House: 435 members, 5 non-voting delegates, and 1 Resident Commissioner 232 Republicans200 Democrats

Senate: 100 members 53 Democrats45 Republicans 2 Independents

The House by District

The Senate

The 113th CongressAverage Age

Senate: 61 yearsHouse: 56 years

Over age 70House: 48Senate: 23

Under age 40House: 33Senate: 2

Gender20 female

Senators, 81 female Representatives 60 are democrats

First female combat veterans

Sexual Orientation7 openly gay, 1

bisexualhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/03/congress-diversity-113-members-sworn-in_n_2404848.html

http://media.cq.com/blog/2012/12/demographics-of-the-113th-congress/

The 113th CongressEthnicity

◦Senate 1 African-American 1 Latino 3 Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders

◦House 42 African-Americans 29 Latino 9 Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders 1 Native American 3 Middle Eastern (Lebanese)

The 113th CongressReligion

54.7% Protestant◦ Top Five Denominations

Roman Catholic 30.1% Baptist 12.4% Methodist 10.7% Jewish 8.4% Presbyterian 8.1%

◦ Most religiously diverse House in history 2 Muslims 2 Buddhists 1 Hindu 45 Jews 11 Mormons 1 Quaker 1 Atheist

The 113th Congress 113 VeteransEducation

95% hold university degrees27 Representatives and 1 Senator have no

degree beyond a high school diploma83 Representatives and 17 Senators have a

Master’s degree as their highest degree202 Congress people have a law degree24 Representatives and 0 Senators have a

doctoral degree (Ph.D.)17 Representatives and 3 Senators have a

medical degree

The 113th Congress Former Occupations

Doctor, dentist, nurse, veterinarian, psychologist, optometrist, clinical dietician, pharmacist

Minister Governor, mayor, lieutenant governor, Former pro athletes Sheriff, police officer, state trooper, probation officer,

volunteer firefighter, FBI agent, border patrol chief Accountant Astronaut, physicist, naval aviator, commander of an

aircraft battle group, instructor at West Point, pilot of Marine One

Organic farmer, rancher, fruit orchard worker Professional musician, screenwriter, comedian,

documentary film maker Carpenter, furniture salesman, mortician, waitress, coroner,

toll booth worker, taxicab driver, hotel clerk, ironworker

Do Members Represent Their Voters?

Member behavior not always obvious Three theories of member behavior:

1. Representational View: members vote to please their constituents in order to secure reelection

Applies when constituents have a clear view and legislators vote will attract attention (usually civil rights and social welfare rather than foreign policy)

Can’t predict marginal districts or that members of safe districts will not be independent

Even if member votes against constituency preference, they can still win reelection in other ways

Do Members Represent Their Voters?2. Organizational View: when constituency

interests are not at stake, members respond to cues from colleagues

Party is principle cue – shared ideological ties cause each member to look to specific members for guidance (especially members of the sponsoring committee)

3. Attitudinal View: member’s ideology determines his/her vote

House is more ideologically similar to “average voter” than Senate

Senate less in tune with public opinion, more likely to support different bases of support in each state1950’s-early 60’s: conservative institution dominated by

southern statesMid 1960’s- late 70’s: rise of liberal senators and

increasing decentralization1980- present: rise of ideologically-based conservative

Republicans

Ideology and Civility in Congress

Members are increasingly divided by political ideologyAttitudinal explanation of voting is of increasing importance

Organizational explanation is decreasing importance

Polarization among members has led to many more attacks and to less constructive negotiations of bills and policies